Antifungal Properties of Bioactive Compounds from Plants

4 Antifungal Properties of Bioactive Compounds from Plants F. Castillo1, D. Hernández1, G. Gallegos1, R. Rodríguez2 and C. N. Aguilar2 1Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro 2Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila México 1. Introduction Currently, the consequences derived from application of fungicides in traditional agricultural production systems for control of crop diseases have impacted negatively this activity. Fungicides application, where the indiscriminate use and application frequency high has led to problems and constraints in the control of these diseases by loss in efficiency, increased resistance to active ingredients, ecological damage and a serious negative impact on the human health. For this reason, it is had carryed out research to develop new products, methods and strategies for diseases control. The investigation and development of bio-based products is of great interest to subtract the negative effects generated by traditional agricultural production systems. The use and application of bioactive phytochemicals with antifungal properties represent an attractive and efficient alternative to inhibit the growth of several fungal pathogens. These bioactive compounds are naturally produced in the plants how secondary metabolites, the principal groups with antifungal activity were terpenes, tannins, flavonoids, essential oil, alkaloids, lecithin and polypeptides. These groups of compounds are important for the physiology of plants contributing properties confer resistance against microorganisms, other organisms and help preserve the integrity of the plant with continuous exposure to environmental stressors, such as ultraviolet radiation, high temperatures or dehydration. 2. Bioactive antifungal activity groups 2.1 General Plants have developed natural defense mechanisms to protect themselves long before the man played an active role in protecting them. It is known that plants synthesize a variety of groups of bioactive compounds in plant tissues as secondary metabolites that have antifungal activity to stop or inhibit the development of mycelia growth, inhibition of germination or reduce sporulation of fungal pathogens, each these groups presented variable mechanisms of action, for example, the toxicity of polyphenols in microorganisms is attributed to enzyme inhibition by oxidation of compounds. For essential oils is www.intechopen.com 82 Fungicides for Plant and Animal Diseases postulated that cause disruption of the membrane by the action of lipophilic compounds, the use or employment as formulations of these compounds is in the form of extracts. The process of extraction of secondary metabolites from plant extracts is variable, can be obtained as aqueous extracts or powders using different solvents used for many different compounds, depending on their polarity. It is considered that these compounds obtained from plants are biodegradable and safe for use as an alternative for disease control in a traditional production system (Sepulveda et al., 2003; Hernandez et al., 2007; Wilson et al., 1997; Bautista et al., 2002; Abou-Jawdah et al., 2002; Cowan, 1999). These substances known as secondary metabolites, secondary products, or natural products, have no generally recognized, direct roles in the processes of photosynthesis, respiration, solute transport, translocation, protein synthesis, nutrient assimilation, differentiation or metabolism processes as the formation of carbohydrates, proteins and lipids. That is, particular secondary metabolites are often found in only one plant species or related group of species, whereas primary metabolites are found throughout the plant kingdom. In function to classify to chemically groups the secondary metabolites can be divided into three groups: terpenes, phenolics and nitrogen- containing compounds. This classification is due by the interrelationship with primary metabolism Figure 1. Fig. 1. A simplified view of the major pathways of secondary metabolites biosynthesis and their interrelationship with primary metabolism (Taiz & Zeiger, 2002) 2.2 Polyphenols Plant phenolics are a chemically heterogeneous group of nearly 10,000 individual compounds: Some are soluble only in organic solvents, some are water-soluble carboxylic acids and glycosides and others are large, insoluble polymers. Present a structure of various www.intechopen.com Antifungal Properties of Bioactive Compounds from Plants 83 groups replaced by hydroxyl functions benzene and its derivatives are simple phenolic compounds called phenylpropanoids (Figure 2). Allowing them to be highly soluble organic substances in water and are present in extracts of leaves, bark, wood, fruits and galls of certain ferns, gymnosperms and angiosperms (Swain, 1979). These polyphenols are important for the physiology of plants to contribute to resistance to microorganisms, insects and herbivorous animals that can affect (Haslam, 1996), help to preserve the integrity of the plant with continuous exposure to environmental stressors, including radiation ultraviolet, relatively high temperatures and dehydration (Lira et al., 2007). These polyphenol antioxidants are therefore active in biological systems and probably the capacity or biological value explains its abundance in plant tissues (Meckes et al., 2004). Fig. 2. Outline of the biosynthesis of phenols from phenylalanine. The formation of many plant phenolics, including simple phenylpropanoids, coumarins, benzoic acid derivatives, lignans, anthocyanins, isoflavones, condensed tannins and other flavonoides, begins with phenylalanine (Taiz & Zeiger, 2002) www.intechopen.com 84 Fungicides for Plant and Animal Diseases 2.2.1 Hydrolysable tannins (HT) Are organic compounds, amorphous, taste astringent, weakly acidic, most soluble in water, only a few in organic solvents are yellow, red, or brown and are located in the cytoplasm and cell vacuole of plant tissues. Esters of glucose are partially or fully attached to different polyols such as ellagic acid, say, m-digallic, hexahydroxydiphenic acid or its derivatives (Figure 3). Obtained by hydrolysis with acids, bases and hydrolytic enzymes to break the glycosidic bond to liberate the sugar and phenolic compounds in it. (Gonzalez et al., 2009). Fig. 3. Hydrolysable tannins and some of its derivatives: A) gallotannins, B) ellagitannins. C) ellagic acid, D) hydroxyphenolic acid, E) gallic acid The hydrolysable tannins are divided into the following subgroups: The gallotannins, which by enzymatic hydrolysis give more sugar and gallic acid of phenolic compounds that comprise it (Figure 4) and ellagitannins, which give ellagic acid enzymatic hydrolysis more sugar or a derivative as hexahydrophenic acid (Figure 4). Fig. 4. Chemical structure of a gallotannins www.intechopen.com Antifungal Properties of Bioactive Compounds from Plants 85 2.2.2 Condensed tannins (CT) Also called proanthocyanidins (PAS), are derived from the oxidation reaction that produces anthocyanidins (ACS) red in acid-alcohol solution (Figure 5). Are polymers of flavan 3-ol (catechin) and 3-4 flavan diol (leucoanthocyanidins) and have no sugar residues and their carbohydrate content is low or negligible. Are polymers of high molecular weight (1000 to 3000 Daltons), which gives them a relative immobility. Its complexity and easy to form bonds with proteins make them difficult to study. Condensed tannins include flavonoids, which in turn are subdivided into anthocyanidins and leucoanthocyanidins and catechin (Makkar et al., 2007; Taiz & Zeiger, 2002). Fig. 5. Condensed tannins or proanthocyanidins The substituents in the groups R1, R2 and R3, can have an effect on the reactivity of tannin (Figure 6). The group R2 is an OH radical can sometimes be esterified gallic acid (known as Gallo-catechin). For example an increase in the ratio prodelphynidins/procyanidins enhance the ability of condensed tannins to complex proteins. R1 R3 Class OH H Proanthocyanidin OH OH Prodelphynidin H H Profisetinidin H OH Prorobinetinidin Fig. 6. Structure of some condensed tannins Hydroxyl groups allow the formation of complexes with proteins, metal ions and other molecules such as polysaccharides. In general, polyphenols identified and grouped according to their basic result is a chain of six carbons (Table 1). www.intechopen.com 86 Fungicides for Plant and Animal Diseases Atoms number Basic carbon skeleton Compounds 6 C6 Simple Phenols and Benzoquinones 7 C6 - C1 Phenolic acids 8 C6 - C2 Acetofenons and fenilacetonics acids 9 C6 - C3 hidroxicinamics Acids, fenilpropanoids 10 C6 - C4 Naftoquinones 13 C6 - C1- C6 Xantones 14 C6 - C2- C6 Estilbens and anthraquinones 15 C6 - C3- C6 Flavonoids and isoflavonoids 18 (C6 - C3)2 Lignans and neolingnans 30 Biflavonoids N (C6 - C3)n Lignins, Catecol Melanins and flavolans (C ) (C -C - C ) 6 6 6 3 6 n Table 1. Classification of phenolics compounds in carbons atoms to base number (Garcia, 2004) 2.3 Terpenes The terpenoids, constitute the largest class of secondary products, the diverse substances of this class are generally insoluble in water. The terpenes are biosynthesized from primary metabolites by at least two different routes, a route mevalonic acid, where three molecules of acetyl CoA is condensed step by step to form mevalonic acid. This six-carbon molecule is pirofosforilada and dehydrated to form isopentyl diphosphate and this is the basic unit of the terpenes active, the other route is called route metileritritol phosphate that functions in chloroplasts and other plastids. All terpenes are derived from the union of five-carbon elements that

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